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As the Bainbridge Bearcats walked off the field after a dominant 58-20 opening round playoff win against Baldwin high school, three players made history in the stat sheet. The 2022 Bearcats have accomplished a rare feat with quarterback Bo Smith passing for 1,000 yards on the season, running back Keenan Phillips rushing for over 1,000 yards on the season and Antavious Murphy accumulating over 1,000 yards from scrimmage as a receiver.

In the 2022 season, Bo Smith has put up impressive numbers as he has thrown for 1240 total yards and 14 touchdowns despite missing three games with an injury and in an offense that relies heavily on the run pass option.

Running back Keenan Phillips has seen a historic junior season as he has rushed for 1,037 total yards and leads the team with 17 total touchdowns. Phillips ability to break tackles as well as his breakaway speed has established himself as not only a weapon in the Bearcats offense but one of the most explosive offensive players in the region.

Phillips’ most impressive game came against Shaw in Columbus where Phillips ripped 10 carries for 163 yards and two touchdowns, including a 45 yard sprint to the end zone.

Wide receiver Antavious Murphy has also taken strides during his junior season as he has accumulated over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and is second on the team in touchdowns with 15, just two behind Phillips.  Murphy’s mix of speed and breakaway ability has been a huge advantage for the Bearcats offense, especially in the short passing game where Murphy has the ability to take bubble screens the distance.

Murphy also had a game to remember in Columbus where he filled the stat sheet with four catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns, averaging an incredible 29.3 yards per reception.

Head coach Jeff Littleton has been pleased with the execution and development his three playmakers have shown all season and knows the challenges they can impose for a defense.

“Big time players make big time plays and they’re both big time players,” said Littleton. “They both feed off of each other and it’s difficult to defend. If you decide to double Antavious it leaves only five or six in the box which then opens things up for Keenan and vice versa. We need to take advantage of what the defense gives us and execute when they have the ball in their hands.”